


blow out the candles, what did you wish for?

by Zillabird



Series: Parents Without Partners [1]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Birthday Party, Daycare, M/M, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 09:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6232918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zillabird/pseuds/Zillabird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason Todd is adjusting to parenthood. Guardianship? Either way, he's getting used to it. Waking up with a kid in the next room. Daily schedules and daycare and picking toys up behind someone else. He's friends with the other single parents at the daycare Colin goes to and friendly with the staff there.</p><p>He's making things work, even if this was never in Jason's plans.</p><p>Then Bruce Wayne, CEO and playboy and all around out of Jason's league, shows up with his own little eight year old in tow. And one birthday party later, Jason is making wishes he'd never thought he'd be making.</p>
            </blockquote>





	blow out the candles, what did you wish for?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [drowning_in_otps](https://archiveofourown.org/users/drowning_in_otps/gifts).



Jason pulled the car into park. Stationary, the knocking and banging coming from somewhere under the hood was only that much louder. Jason caught sight of his brother glancing at him and then the hood only to look away. It needed to be looked at, bad, but the rent needed to be paid and the utilities needed to be paid and school debts that still made Jason overwhelmed with bitterness kept showing up at the house. The car still worked and as long as it did, Jason would keep babying it along. “Next paycheck, Colin. I’ll get it looked at next paycheck as long as nothing comes up.”

“That’s what you said last time,” Colin muttered.

Jason curled his fingers around the steering wheel, forced himself to stay silent, and then slowly released his grip on the wheel to turn the car off. The silence was splendid. The door squeaked open and Colin hopped out. “Don’t forget your backpack.”

Colin opened the back door to grab his backpack as Jason climbed out of the driver’s seat. He closed it gently but red flakes of paint still dropped to the ground, edged by orange rust. Colin was halfway into the daycare before Jason even started after him.

It was a brick building, one story, with a big sign over the doorway. Kid’s Corner. Cute. Usually expensive. On his own, Jason didn’t have a chance of affording this place. The rates were through the roof. But he’d been lucky enough to score a scholarship for Colin through child services and as long as it was free, Jason didn’t mind driving the extra ten minutes out of his way to drop Colin off. The security camera on the front was always a reassuring sight and Jason smiled at the woman at the front desk there to check him in.

“ID?” Cass asked, the space between the letters longer than it should have been. He’d never questioned her stilted speech. She was capable of communicating and always nice to the kids which was really all he needed to know. Jason handed it to her and she looked it over, taking the time to match it to the copy on file before handing it back. “Have a nice day, Colin.”

Colin nodded and shifted the backpack on his shoulder before walking in.

“Still sad,” Cass commented.

Jason focused on putting the ID in his wallet so he didn’t have to look at her when he replied. “I don’t really know how to help him.”

“Get better,” Cass replied. “Soon.”

“I sure hope so,” Jason said.

A hand came down on his back between his shoulder blades. “Jaybird!”

“Roy,” Jason said, recognizing the voice and turning to see the redheaded man behind him. He wore that same dopey smile, hair hanging down to his shoulders with a trucker hat on top of his head. Lian sat on his shoulders though Jason knew she was getting too big for that. Six years old was probably past time to be walking by herself more than she did. Colin was eight and Jason sure wouldn’t have been carrying him around. “Lian.”

She scoffed and pointed to the tiara on her head. Dollar store plastic with feathers at the bottom. “ _Jay_ , I’m a _princess_.”

“My apologies, Princess Lian,” Jason corrected.

“ID?” Cass asked.

Roy handed it over to her. “Didn’t see you for a while. I started getting worried.”

“Colin caught a stomach bug,” Jason said. Lie. “But he’s over it now.”

Another lie.

“I’m glad he’s feeling better,” Roy said. He picked Lian up off his shoulders and set her on the floor. “Have fun, Princess.”

“Bye, Daddy!” Lian called, running across the floor so her bright green tutu bounced with her motions.

Lian was cute as a button. Spoiled rotten, of course, but cute as a button.

“I see we’re running late,” Dick said. He had a box in one hand and Mar’i in the other.

Jason arched an eyebrow. “Did I miss the memo? Is it carry your kid to daycare day?”

“Are those doughnuts?” Roy asked.

Dick flicked the edge of the box and opened it. “I come bearing gifts.”

“Fuck, yes!” Roy exclaimed.

“Language,” Cass chastised.

“Shit, right,” Roy said before covering his mouth. “Right, right. Sorry.”

Cass sighed.

Jason reached into the box and grabbed something that didn’t look like it would give him diabetes. “Cop bringing doughnuts? You’re a walking cliché.”

“Speaking of walking-“ Dick started.

“ID?” Cass interrupted.

He handed the box over to Roy so he could dig out his wallet. “You need a new car or you are going to be getting a lot more exercise.”

“Might be for the best if you keep bringing in fatty doughnuts, Officer,” Jason said, brushing off Dick’s concern.

Dick frowned and set Mar’i down. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and gave her a hug. She squeezed him back just as tight. “Love you, honey.”

“Be safe, Daddy,” Mar’i said.

“Always,” Dick replied, standing back up and watching her skip away. He turned back to Jason. “I’m serious, Jay. That car looks like it’s on its last leg.”

“I know,” Jason muttered.

Roy set the box on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you want me to take a look at it?”

Jason felt his cheeks warm and he silently cursed his pale skin. “I don’t really have the money right now, Roy.”

The other man waved him off, combining the motion into a sweeping grab of a doughnut. A glob of red jelly slid off the side and landed with a splat on Cass’ desk. She turned a cold glare to the man who was too busy talking to notice. “It’s on me, Jay. Free of charge. If there’s something fixable then we can discuss you buying the parts. I might could even front it on the shop’s dime and have you pay it back on a payment plan.”

“No,” Jason said, sharper than he intended. He took a deep breath. “I mean, no but thank you. I can do this. I’m going to get it looked at out of my next paycheck. I need to do this on my own. I _can_ do this on my own.”

Jason thought he saw Dick and Roy share a look and then Dick was clearing his throat. “There’s nothing wrong with getting a little help. Being a single parent is hard, ask me or Roy or Steph. We all have to lean on someone eventually.”

“I know,” Jason said, trying to believe it. He wished it was as simple as thanking Roy for the offer and taking the car over on his day off. It just wasn’t. “I’ll scrape up the money and come see you after my next paycheck, Roy.”

The redhead sighed. “Alright, Jay. If that’s what you want.”

A paper towel was slammed into Roy’s chest and his eyes widened before following the arm to Cass’ angry face. She pointed at the glob of jelly. “Clean.”

He dropped his gaze to the desk and then lifted it back up to Cass. He nodded slowly. “Sure.”

Cass nodded, turning her gaze back to the computer.

Jason ran a hand through his hair. “Well, I should probably go.”

“Sure,” Dick said.

“ID?” Cass asked.

“Here.” The voice was deep, accented but not with the hoarse Gotham edge that Jason was used to. He sounded more like Dick but even cleaner if that was possible. Jason turned to put a face to the voice. Black hair and ice blue eyes. His suit was worth more than Jason’s car. Not that Jason knew a damn thing about suits but he could tell by sight that this one was tailor made and that always cost a pretty penny. Didn’t it? Beside him was a shorter version, darker skin but that was about the only difference between them.

The little version’s eyes flicked over them and then sneered when his eyes fell on Dick. “You have food on your face.”

Jason turned in time to catch Dick wiping off powdered sugar and then faced the man again.

“Have a nice day, Dam-“ The boy didn’t have the patience to wait through Cass’ slow, stuttered greeting apparently because he was walking away and towards the inside of the daycare. “-ian.”

The dark haired man sighed. “My apologies.”

Cass shrugged and handed him back his ID. The man took it and looked up, saw them standing at the counter. He gave a smile that Jason felt like was practiced. “Have a nice one.”

“Thanks,” Jason said, watching until the man disappeared out of the front doors and onto the street again. He turned around. “Who was that?”

“What rock are you living under?” Dick asked.

Roy elbowed the man in the side. “Colin was sick.”

Dick’s expression turned sympathetic. “Sorry, man. Glad he’s feeling better. That’s Bruce Wayne. _The_ Bruce Wayne. He apparently just found out he had a kid. It was all over the news.”

Well, that explained why Jason hadn’t seen anything. “ _The_ Bruce Wayne? Sending his kid to daycare?”

“I don’t know,” Roy said. “But the kid’s name is Damian and so far Lian says he’s a jerk.”

“That’s what she said?” Dick asked.

Roy rolled his eyes. “Alright, technically she said he was a big meanie but I understood the translation.”

“Like father, like son?” Dick suggested to which Roy only shrugged.

“I don’t know, he didn’t seem that bad,” Jason said.

Dick snorted. “You saw him for what? A minute? Tops? He’s rich, he’s famous, and he produced a little demon. He’s probably Satan himself.”

“You’re rich,” Jason pointed out. “And you’re just upset because the kid pointed out that you eat like an animal.”

Dick flipped him off earning a glare from Cass. He flicked the badge on his chest. “Duty calls. If I don’t take off I’m going to end up late to my shift. Enjoy the doughnuts.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Roy said. He patted Jason’s arm. “I’m serious, man. It’s okay to hit the shop up anytime.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jason replied.

Then Jason was standing at the desk alone again and Cass was working away on the computer. “Have a nice day, Cass.”

She nodded but kept working. He stepped back and turned towards the door before leaving too.

~~~

“So you’re Bruce Wayne?” Jason asked.

Tension tightened the man’s shoulders and his lips thinned for a split second, small changes that most people might miss but then Jason was good at reading people. Then Bruce was smiling, that same fake smile. “The one and only.”

Jason snorted. “Relax, man. I’m not looking for an autograph. You can cut down on the canned smiles. Your kid is the same age as mine so they end up in group together. Colin told me about him.”

Abruptly, the look changed from canned smiles to resignation. “My apologies for his rude behavior. Damian is going through a difficult time-“

Jason put a hand up to stop him and Bruce went quiet. He looked at the hand like he wasn’t sure why anyone had put it there, as if the idea of someone telling him to be quiet was unheard of. Maybe it was. The man was probably rich enough to buy someone to listen to him. “Colin likes Damian, actually. He says they’re getting along.”

“Oh?” Bruce asked. “Are you sure he’s talking about my Damian?”

Jesus Christ. Just how bad _was_ the kid? ”Pretty sure. He also said that he was rude and snotty.”

Bruce nodded, shoulders relaxing. “Yeah, that’s him.”

“I just thought I should get to know the father of the kid my brother is befriending,” Jason said. He held out his hand. “So now we’ve met.”

Bruce stared at his hand for a beat and then met it, shaking once. He had a firm grip. “And your name is?”

“Jason Todd,” he replied.

“And you said Colin was your brother?” Bruce asked.

It was gentle, not a demand for answers but it still set Jason’s teeth on edge. “Um, yeah. Colin Wilkes. I’m his legal guardian.”

“Good,” Bruce said. “I thought you looked a bit young to have an eight year old.”

“I started young, not that young,” Jason said. It didn’t occur to him exactly what he’d implied until it was already out of his mouth. “Wow that was inappropriate.”

The corners of Bruce’s mouth quirked without making it to a full smile. “It’s fine. Kind of refreshing, actually.”

A silence built between them and Jason took a step back to get away from it. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”

“See you around?” Bruce asked.

“Every morning,” Jason said. “And every day at six when I pick Colin up after work. Dick, the cop, and Roy are the other single dads here so we kind of bonded over that. Parents without partners. There’s another single parent, a mother, Steph. We meet for coffee every once in a while. You could come.”

“Are you asking me to coffee?” Bruce asked.

Was Jason asking him to coffee? “ _Group_ coffee.”

“A group coffee date,” Bruce said. “Alright then.”

“First Tuesday of every month at two,” Jason said, walking backwards to the door. “Roasted on Eleventh.”

“I’ll be there,” Bruce replied.

Jason hit the door with a surprised grunt and then quickly turned and pushed the door open, leaving the man with that same quirk of a smile from before.

~~~

Stephanie was always first to arrive and that should really have said something about the rest of them. Youngest, by far, but she’d managed to find responsibility and it suited her well. Her purple hoodie was pulled up and she was sipping on something with whip cream and pieces of cookie on top, tipping the chair back so the legs were a few inches off the ground.

He grabbed the back of her chair and pushed it back on even footing. “You could crack your head open like that.”

She pulled the hood down, revealing beautiful blonde hair and a fond smile. “What are you, my mom?”

“What do you have?” Jason asked, instead of answering her question.

“Oreo frappuccino,” Steph replied. “Extra Oreo.”

“Sounds like a sugar rush waiting to happen,” Jason said.

“It’s delicious,” Steph said. “Learn to live a little.”

Jason ordered a plain black coffee, two sugars.

Dick also asked what Steph got, managed to coerce her into giving him a sip and then ordered the same thing only bigger. Roy showed up and got a coffee with some added syrup and Jason sighed when he realized that Bruce probably wasn’t coming.

“What’s got you so glum?” Roy asked.

“I invited the new parent,” Jason said.

Steph’s eyebrows rose. “Wayne?”

“Yeah.”

Dick played with the straw between his fingers. “Probably a busy man.”

“Maybe,” Jason said.

Roy laughed. “Or maybe he just doesn’t want to spend time with a bunch of broke ass motherfuckers in a cheap coffee shop.”

“Dick isn’t broke,” Jason pointed out.

Dick waved the straw around, flinging wet Oreo pieces onto the table. “I think you confuse comfortable with rich.”

“Shut up, pretty boy. Some of us are hurting in the pocketbooks,” Steph said.

Dick grinned. “You think I’m pretty?”

“How do you know it was a compliment, Dickhe-“

“Am I late?” Bruce asked.

Four sets of eyes turned up to view the newcomer. Once again, Jason was taken by those ice blue eyes. He used the toe of his work boot to push the chair out. “Of course not. Have a seat.”

The man took the seat and the other three continued to stare in silence. Dick pulled himself together first and flashed Bruce a smile. “Dick Grayson.”

“Bruce Wayne.” They shook.

Jason thought they sort of looked good together. Like they could have stood beside each other as business partners or friends. Like father and son if Bruce was older. They had that same air to them and it made Jason conscious of his dirty work shirt and hair that wasn’t brushed.

“This is Roy.” Dick jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the redhead who waved. “And Steph is the girl.”

“Hi,” she said softly.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” he said. “I hope that it’s okay that I showed up. Jason said that the single parents met together.”

“Well, the suburban soccer moms didn’t seem like great company so,” Steph trailed off.

Roy picked up his coffee. “It’s a lot harder for all of us. It can be financial or emotional or physically taxing. Sometimes it’s all three or none of those at all and something else. The point is, raising a kid on your own is rough and this Tuesday is the one day that we get to be around people who understand what that means.”

“Thank you,” Bruce said.

Roy nodded. “So grab yourself a coffee and let’s get talking. We’ve got three hours before we have to pick the kiddos up.”

The three hours flew by. They always did. Dick was standing and reaching for his phone to turn the alarm off. “Well, that’s it then. Until next month.”

“I wish we could do this twice a month,” Steph said. “With Robin still being a battle to get to sleep through the night, I could really use the break.”

Jason shrugged with one shoulder. “I can try but getting work to give me more than one day off on request is a bitch.”

“Hear, hear,” Dick said.

Roy grinned. “Perks of being my own boss.”

“There are certain benefits to it,” Bruce said. “Do you mind if I come to the next meeting?”

“No one dumped a coffee on you. I suppose that means you’re good to come back at least one more month,” Steph said.

“Thank you,” Bruce said. He turned to the door before swiftly turning back. “Oh, actually…” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a stack of envelopes. Each one had a name on it, perfectly and beautifully spelled out on the cover. Jason didn’t think he’d ever seen penmanship that beautiful. “Damian’s birthday. He’s turning nine. He doesn’t know many people here yet so I convinced him to invite the children at the daycare. I know some of them are younger but he could do with the variety and I could do with company of adults.”

Steph grinned, taking the envelope. “So these are invitations?”

“You are cordially invited-“ Roy read off the front of the card. “Is it a ball or a birthday party?”

Bruce cringed. “Alfred warned me they were too formal.”

“Alfred?” Roy asked.

“My butler,” Bruce said.

Silence. Jason was the first to break it with a laugh. He pocketed the invitation. “We’ll be there.”

“Good to hear,” Bruce said.

There was the same twitch of his mouth when he looked at Jason laughing at Bruce having a butler. That same smile that never quite reached the CEO’s face.

“Dress code?” Dick asked.

Jason hadn’t even thought to ask about that. Bruce shook his head. “Be comfortable.”

~~~

“Does that look comfortable to you?” Steph asked Jason as they climbed out of Jason’s car.

“Not really,” Jason said, examining the suit and tie that Bruce wore compared to the jeans and t-shirts that Steph and Jason both had on. He’d shed the jacket this time and rolled his sleeves up, sure, but it was a far stretch from comfortable in any sense of the word Jason knew. There were other people at the party, adults in fancy dresses and suits like Bruce’s.

Steph shifted Robin, letting the girl sleep against her shoulder. “Maybe we shouldn’t have come.”

Jason’s shoulders pulled back. “He invited us and we said that we would be here. He told us to dress comfortably, if this isn’t what he meant than he should have been more specific. I’m going to this party.” He grew quiet. “Besides, Colin was really excited about this.” Jason wasn’t going to ruin this for a matter of his own pride.

Almost on cue, Colin took off from the car and ran up towards the house. Mansion? It was basically a mansion. Bigger than any house Jason had ever seen other than maybe pictures of the Queen’s palace in England.

 _Huge_.

“Jason! Stephanie!” Bruce said. That practiced grin was back on his face. “Glad you could make it.”

“I feel underdressed,” Stephanie muttered.

Jason did too but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from being here for Colin. He lifted his chin up and reached his hand out to shake Bruce’s again. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Where’s Colin?” Bruce asked.

Jason motioned vaguely towards the house. “He took off like a bat out of hell. He was really excited to see Damian.”

“I know how he feels,” Bruce said. “Seeing someone that I like to talk to.”

It was vague and Jason felt like it meant more than the face value of the words.

“Is this Robin?” Bruce asked.

Steph patted the little girl’s back. “Yeah, she had a long night keeping Mommy up.”

“Then we’d better let her sleep. If you follow me towards the back, that’s where the children are. Keeping themselves busy with the entertainment,” Bruce said.

“Entertainment?” Steph questioned.

Bruce nodded. “I wanted Damian to have a normal birthday party so I really tried to key back the extra stuff. There’s just a bouncy house and a clown back there. Some games. A face painter.”

A pony, a princess, and a pool.

“Too much?” Bruce asked. He glanced at Jason. “You can be honest.”

Jason let out a breath. “You missed normal when you hired the clown.”

Bruce sighed. “Alfred warned me I was going too far.”

“From what I understand, your butler seems to be pretty smart,” Jason commented.

Bruce’s lips twitched into a half smile. “That he is. Smarter than me by far.”

Dick jogged over, Mar’i on his back and giggling up a storm as black pigtails bounced around her face. “Guys! I’m glad you could make it. Roy and I were feeling underdressed.”

“Roy’s already here?” Jason asked.

Dick nodded and motioned vaguely towards the bounce house. “With Lian.”

“Of course he is,” Jason said. He looked around, searching for the telltale sign of red hair and found Colin shortly after. He was standing next to the birthday boy himself and they were talking. “Looks like Colin found what he was looking for. Or rather, who he was looking for.”

“I’m glad Damian has found a friend,” Bruce said. He faced Jason. “Care to come in for a drink?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Jason said.

“Come on, Steph. Let me see that beautiful baby of yours,” Dick said.

Jason followed Bruce into the house and left the other two chatting together.

If the outside was beautiful then the inside was so gorgeous that words didn’t truly define it. Every shined and glistened, appeared well taken care of. There was a lot there _to_ take care of too. “You have a lovely home.”

“The Manor has been in my family for generations,” Bruce said. “I’m very proud of it.”

He had every right to be.

“Do you have a poison?” Bruce asked.

“I buy boxed wine because it’s cheap, Bruce. I’m not going to have a special preference on your free offer of a drink,” Jason said. He laughed when Bruce cringed. “Yeah, I know.”

“Here,” Bruce said. He pulled out a bottle of wine and used the corkscrew to open it. Long, thick fingers acted more delicately than Jason would have thought them capable of as they pulled two wineglasses down onto the counter. “This should taste a little bit better than the box.”

“Thank you,” Jason said. “Though I don’t know if wine was what I was expecting.”

“Too soft?” Bruce asked.

“Too romantic,” Jason replied.

Bruce’s expression changed, his smile growing a little tighter. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“I don’t understand it,” Jason said.

Bruce shrugged. “Do you have to?”

Jason thought about that, sipping from the wine glass so he could stall answering. “Yes, I do.”

“Most people wouldn’t question me,” Bruce said.

Jason squared his shoulders. “I’m not most people.”

A twitch of his lips. “I wouldn’t want you to be.”

“Do _you_ understand it?” Jason demanded.

Bruce hesitated himself. “Not really, no.”

“Then get back to me when you do,” Jason said. “I’ve got a kid to take care of. You’re… _you_ -“

“That doesn’t have to mean anything,” Bruce argued.

“It will always mean something,” Jason said. “Understand it and then help me to.”

Bruce sighed but nodded. “Alright then.”

“Alright,” Jason repeated. He took another sip. “This is a really fantastic wine.”

“A nineteen forty-nine Bordeaux,” Bruce replied. “Sells for two grand, or so I’m told.”

Jason choked on the sip, mid-swallow.

~~~

_Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~_

_Happy birthday, dear Damian~_

_Happy birthday to you~_

The little boy didn’t look too thrilled by the singing, especially some people’s caterwauling that had Jason even cringing. But he sat in front of the cake, glowing from the candles, and looked to his father for instructions. “Blow out the candles, Damian.”

“And don’t forget to make a wish, sir,” the butler said.

“A wish?” Damian asked.

Colin was sitting at the table next to him. “Yeah, a wish. That’s what you do at your birthday party. And if you blow all the candles out at once, then you get what you wished for.”

Damian chewed on his lip, debating for longer than the situation really called for.

“Soon, Master Damian. Before the wax destroys the cake,” the butler encouraged.

Damian huffed and, after a brief moment, blew out the candles. The flames went out at once. Though the expression was quickly covered, Jason caught sight of a proud smile.

Lian walked over and tugged on Damian’s pant leg until he paid attention to her. She pushed black bangs out of her face. “What did you wish for?”

Damian opened his mouth only for Colin to slap his hand over it. “You can’t tell her, Damian. Then the wish won’t come true.”

Damian pulled Colin’s hand off his mouth. “That’s a ridiculous superstition.”

Apparently, less believable than magic birthday wishes.

“Well, it’s true,” Colin pressed.

“Tt,” Damian replied. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I cannot tell you.”

“Oh,” Lian said.

Jason walked over and put his hand on Colin’s shoulder. The boy looked up wearing a smile. It felt good to see him smiling. From where Jason was standing he could hear Bruce and Damian’s conversation clear as day.

“Have you ever wished for something, Father?” Damian asked.

“Actually, yes,” Bruce said. His eyes flicked up and met Jason’s. Ice blue but sparkling. Jason abruptly looked away. When he looked back up, Bruce’s lips were twitching in that same not-smile.

Only this time, the smile actually made it to Bruce’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> For reference the parent-child connections are as follows:
> 
> Jason adopted his little brother, Colin.  
> Dick is Mar'i's father.  
> Roy is Lian's father.  
> Bruce is Damian's father.  
> Stephanie is Robin's mother.


End file.
